In Puerto Rico more than 1.2 million subscribers are plunged into darkness for the next 48 to 72 hours. A critical outage, the cause of which is unknown, paralyzes the island. The distribution network and power plants are dilapidated. Cuts are frequent.
In Puerto Rico, it is the umpteenth power outage of the year. Major incidents have persisted for several years. Production and distribution infrastructure, some of which was built in the 20th century, had to be replaced years ago.
The energy sector, already weakened, never recovered after the passage in 2017 of Hurricane Maria, a category 4 cyclone,
After the hurricane, the state Electric Power Authority did not have the means to rebuild the grid. The organization had accumulated debts of $9 billion. The only solution was privatization.
Luma Energy, responsible for distribution, and Genera PR, which produces energy, have still not modernized the sector. Puerto Ricans live with frequent power cuts.
Energy suppliers always repeat the same excuses.
What we have is a situation at the general level, at the island level. A major incident.
Ivan Baez, spokesperson for Génera PR, speaks to the media in Puerto Rico
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©CARLOS GIUSTI / AP
Each time the electricity is interrupted, the governor of Puerto Rico, Pedro Pierluisi, informs the population that his services are in constant communication with the electricity distributors.
We demand answers and solutions from LUMA and Genera, who must accelerate the restart of generators outside the fault zone and keep the population duly informed of the measures they are taking to restore service throughout the region. 'island.
Pedro Pierluisi, Governor of Puerto Rico
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©CARLOS GIUSTI / AP
For the moment, there is no date for the return of electricity, as technicians are still checking the damage that the outage could have caused to the power plants.
Puerto Ricans are asked to wait between 48 hours and 72 hours for the situation to improve.
